Change of Heart, Change of Mind
by Kurai's Calisto
Summary: Deep within the forests of Fire Country is a powerful demon village ruled by the Kyuubi clan. Centuries ago the humans and Kyuubi signed a treaty of alliance in exchange for a human sacrifice of their choise. Years later, the contract is broken. SasuNaru
1. Treaty

_A/N: Hello there and welcome to my new story. Hopefully it will be something you will grow to like as the time goes by. Let me know what you think about it. I will be waiting for your input. Happy reading everyone._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything of any importance other then my beloved computer, so… you know the drill…_

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**Chapter 01: Prologue - Treaty**

_**Treaty: **__**An agreement or a contract between two or more nations or sovereigns, formally signed; a treaty of alliance.**_

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_Town of Konoha, heart of Fire Country  
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"That is unheard of!" a male voice roared. "Who do they think they are? Out of all people, asking for him!"

"The contract allows them to ask for anyone they wish. It has been so for decades. We have to obey and fulfill their request. Assemble a team that will escort the boy to the meeting point."

"Hokage-sama, we surely cannot allow them to take the Uchiha prodigy. He must stay here, he is a valuable asset and a strong shinobi."

"Homura-san, I believe you are familiar with the conditions of the contract. According to these conditions they are able to choose whom ever they want, we have no say in that matter. I personally do not wish to break the contract and risk a war with the demons. We have no chance of standing up to them even if we had all our shinobi available and ready for a fight."

"But Hokage-sama –"

"I made my decision and I decided to act according to the rules of contract! They asked for Uchiha Itachi, they shall get him. Prepare a team to escort him. And send someone to tell the boy. Dismissed!" shouted the angry Hokage. She was tall with blond hair and honey colored eyes. She looked around 30 but in reality she was over 50. Using a genjutsu was no problem for her, as well as hiding her true appearance from others. She was one of the sannin and the best medic nin in the country. She took the position of Hokage after the previous one, who has been her sensei at one point, died in a battle with another one of his students. She was the fifth in sequence to take the name and the responsibility for the village. Even though she was a bit reluctant at first, not wanting to spend the rest of her life in village she lost everyone dear to her to, in the end she accepted the position and grew used to being the head of a powerful village.

"Shizune! Make preparations for the escort." Shizune, her assistant was young, younger than the hokage herself. A medic just as her sensei, she had short brown hair and dark brown eyes. Her kind personality made her possible to earn trust of others as well as make friends easier than her violent sensei.

"Hai Tsunade-sama! But do you think it will be okay with the Uchiha house?"

"No it won't. But as I said, we don't have much say in that. Still, I wonder... Are the demons planning something? As long as I remember they have never asked for a sacrifice specifically." she mused out loud. "Why did I take the job again?" she asked and with a sigh started another round of fight with the dreaded paperwork.

With all the work around the preparations no one has noticed one dark haired teen listening to the conversation that took place in the office.

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Knocking was heard through the Uchiha manor.

"Sasuke, your father wishes to speak with you. He is in his study. You should hurry, he seemed rather irritated after he returned from the meeting with the hokage." Mikoto, Sasukes' mother said after entering the room.

"Yes, mother. I will be right there." answered Sasuke, not even looking at her.

"Okay. Take care Sasuke and please, do not try to anger him."

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Sasuke knocked on the door of the study. Anxiously he waited until his father called him to enter. Slowly he opened the door and entered father's study.

"You called, father?"

"Yes Sasuke. Prepare yourself, you are leaving for a mission. The team will be waiting by the North Gate at noon. Take only necessities." Fugaku took out a scroll and gave it to Sasuke. "Here, give this the team leader at the gate."

"Yes father."

"Good. You may leave now."

Not once did Sasuke notice the cold tone his father used while talking to him. After so many years he was used to it. Fugaku never talked to him in the same tone as to his older brother, Itachi. Never praised him, never spoke one kind word to him. Sasuke didn't feel kinship or any other feeling one might feel for his on family to this particular man. Not even hatred. What he felt was the cold indifference. The boy returned to his room and packed a few things he knew he would need for the mission. After a few minutes of packing he left the house and headed for the gates that would take him out of Konoha.

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When he arrived at the gate the team of four others was already waiting for him. Well, maybe not for him if he had to judge after the shocked expression on their faces. Without a word he gave the scroll he received from his father to the leader, who took it and read what was written inside. Raising an eyebrow at the message written inside he slowly rolled the scroll up, gave a nod to his team and without another word the started their way towards their destination.

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The travel was long and uneventful. Wherever he looked, everything seemed the same. He thought that after two days of constant traveling at least the species of flowers would change. But it was just his wishful thinking. They didn't make much stops, stopping only long enough to make short breaks or set a camp for the night. Even though he didn't pay much attention to his supposed teammates, he did notice how they acted around him. They would glance on him when they thought he didn't see them, or talk in hushed voices when they thought he wasn't listening. He knew they were planning something. He just didn't know what it was and it was slowly driving him crazy. They stopped for the night and set up a camp. He was told this was their last night on road. Their destination was only a few more hours away.

- timeskip: morning -

When Sasuke woke up, he found the other already awake and moving around the camp. They acted suspiciously normal, he noticed. The breakfast was simple and fast, as it should be when on the mission. But after a few minutes he noticed something was off. Noticing his sight blurring around the edges and feeling slightly faint he looked to his companions silently asking for help. He slumped to the ground but the others were just watching from the side. The last thing he saw before the darkness took him was the face of the leader looking down on him.

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_Notes:_

_Phew… :) After a looong time I was finally able to put together the first chapter, which is actually kind of a prologue . I hope you like it even though there is not much going on yet. The next update is more or less planned out :P I confess, I don't have a word written yet, BUT I have it planned already. Learning and teaching takes a lot of time and energy, so I hope you will understand this and wait patiently for something new._

_Any comments will be appreciated, just please, be nice. I am trying my best here, really, I do. :) And you do not have something nice to say (or write in that matter) don't, or write something like "Subject: Flame" or something, I don't really know how it looks like, so just so that I know that I should feel offended and angry by that exact comment. _

_That would be all for now. I am going to sleep as it is nearly midnight._

_Wishing you a nice and successful -- insert part of the day here -- _

_Cali, the tired one…_


	2. Delivery

_Hey there, everybody!_

_I hope I made you happy for I FINALLY updated. :D Surprised? I hope so. This is so far the longest piece of something written I ever produced, so be proud of me :) There was a slight problem with uploading but it seems that everything is allright now, so read up and enjoy!  
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_**trsofnaruto **__- Well basically this is going to be a boyXboy so basically it is yaoi but I won't change the rating, so don't be afraid and stay with me. :D_

_To everyone else, thank you for your reviews, faves and alerts. It created this nice and warm feeling inside. _

**Notes:** ----- ----- ----- means a scene change

_ --- timeskip  
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_Disclaimer: __No, I still do not own Naruto or anything of any importance other then my beloved computer. BUT! I do own this story… I think I do…_

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**Chapter 01: Delivery**

_**Delivery: The act of giving or transferring or the state of being given or transferred.**_

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Deep within Fire Country there was a village, hidden in the thick forest under an old mountain range. It was an old demon village with centuries old traditions, buildings and of course its demonic and not so demonic inhabitants. The village was a peaceful one, demons and humans living next to each other, even if it was in some places looked down upon. It worked for them and that was what mattered. The Kitsune Village, as that was its name, was one of the most secure places in the country and it was really hard to find. To get inside the village without invitation or an escort would be impossible too, for the forest surrounding it was reinforced with the powerful chakra of all demons living inside it. The forest grew thicker with every day, though it still looked as beautiful as it had ever been. But no matter how beautiful it was, the forest was deadly. One could get lost very easily. Many thought that it had a life on its own, moving and changing, trapping you when were lost and killing you when you expected it the least. The village had its natural protection, nature helping the demons and demons helping her back in exchange. You could find some of the powerful beings from the village running through the forest, patrolling their territory and trying to find anything that might be harmful to their village.

Inside, the village was bustling with life. Although not big, the village was prosperous and lively. Children were running around, playing games, laughing or helping their families with everyday work and merchants selling their goods. Everyone was happy, for they knew they were safe, guarded by their lord, a young kitsune demon of the Kyuubi - the Nine-tailed. Nine-tailed demons were rare. The number of tails showed the power and rank as well as the status in demon world, nine tails being the highest rank in demonic hierarchy. He was a good ruler, his people loved him. He was compassionate, caring and had a big and warm heart.

The lords' mansion was a big one, built in traditional style with wooden flooring, shoji screen doors and entrancing pagoda roof. The mansion was standing near the river, giving one a feeling of peace, calming the spirit. A beautiful garden was also a part of the mansion. But even though not much people were given the chance to see what it looked like, everyone knew it was entrancing.

Inside the garden a colorful display of flowers, some never seen by a human eye, adorned the small paradise. A tiny stream of crystal clear water filled the small fish pond in the middle with fresh water. Every now and then a carp would come up to the surface to try to catch a fly or some other insect that was unfortunate enough to be flying above it at the time.

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That morning the garden that was usually empty and devoid of life other than the plants and occasional wildlife housed another regular visitor. The young lord decided to spend some time sitting on mansions' porch watching his messengers play. The two fox kittlings were running all around playing tag. It amused him to no end how they managed to be everywhere at the same time. The black and white pair was his constant companion. And he was thankful. They made his boring or gloomy days more enjoyable. Kuro, the black one, was cunning and sly, as a fox should be, but also caring and faithful. Hikari, his sister, was white. She was the more playful of the two but could be dangerous should she choose to. Even though both were young, they were pureblooded fox demons and could change forms either to human, two children, or to their full demon form, a fox bigger and more dangerous than their usual kittling form. They both were loyal to him only, but listened to his old advisor too. Something about respecting the older and wiser. He recalled the time he found them. They were so distrusting. Not that much changed but they could read personalities now well.

_--- Flashback ---_

_He was taking a walk in th__e forest surrounding the village, intent on spending his free time alone, without someone constantly watching his back. Stepping from behind a tree he entered a small clearing. He looked around listening to any sounds that might alert him to someone coming. As he took a step forward he didn't realize he startled a rabbit that didn't hesitate and disappeared in the forest. Suddenly he heard a low growling noise from under the bushes. He felt with his chakra for any danger but found instead a pair of weak chakra signals. _

"_Young demons." he said to no one. He took another slow step and then crouched low. "Don't be afraid. Come out." he tried coaxing them. The white looked as if it would come to him but the other__ one, the black, stopped it before it could reach him. Now that they were both out from under the bush he could see they were both foxes."I'll take care of you, just come." he continued calmly. _

_Suddenly a call from forest startled him. "Naruto-sama! Where are you? Your brother has returned, we have to head back home!"_

"_Taka…" Naruto whispered. He sighed. "Looks like I have to go now. You can come with me if you wish. I don't want to leave you here." He knew they understood him, they were demons after all. The foxes looked at each other, barking and yipping for a while. To Naruto it looked as if they had a fight. Then the white run to Naruto and looked back to the other one. The black kittling was looking at him with distrust. --Why?-- He looked at the fox in surprise. He shouldn't understand them, he knew, but for some reason their words were perfectly clear to him. "You're family." They looked him dumbfounded. "Foxes," he answered their looks, "I am a fox too. Now come. We're leaving." With that he turned and started walking back the way he came with two young foxes following him._

_--- End flashback ---_

Those two were with him ever since. He found out they learned fast, eager to please him they would do nearly everything. Even helping him prank one of his keepers. He was a fox after all, he couldn't help it. Kira, his youngest keeper was a tiger demon and a regular victim of pranks of his two messengers. He knew she wasn't as dedicated to her work as she kept on reassuring them. He could look into the future, a gift he was bestowed with, he did not for he felt as if he was crossing a boundary. Naruto didn't see his gift as a gift at all. He never asked for it. It did help a few times, but he hated what he saw most of time. "No one should be able to see what is yet to come. It is not something for mortals to see, and not something for demons to use." he said once and he meant it. With this gift he has foreseen some events. It didn't matter he disliked the visions, they came to him. He saw his future. And he saw Kiras' future too. What he saw displeased him greatly. But he didn't linger on the vision for long. He knew future was fickle. It could twist and turn. One change in decision meant a change in results and the possibilities were endless. He decided he would wait and deal with her when the time came.

Right now he was thinking. "Brother." he said quietly. "Don't worry. Soon. We will meet again soon." he told to no one. He looked up at the sky and listened to the foxes play.

His musings were interrupted by Akito, an old owl demon and the oldest of his advisors. He looked up from where he sat. Akito bowed slightly and opened his mouth to tell why he came but Naruto cut in before he could start.

"Is it that time of year again, Akito? I thought we agreed last time that it was useless. I will not do anything that could hurt them, you know that, don't you?"

"I know, but we can still try, my Lord. This time we asked for someone from a higher clan, someone with a status specifically. We have high expectations of them. Hopefully they will be able to help." the owl answered calmly.

Naruto wasn't looking at him. His eyes were trained on two foxes playing nearby. He looked tired. In spite of his young age, a heavy burden was placed on his shoulders. Life was not kind to him. Blue eyes of the color of sky once shining and full of life were now cold and dead. Where his skin was once tanned from the time spent in the sun, in the early morning sun it glowed with the soft hue of the moon. His blond hair wild and untamed was falling around his face, softly brushing against his shoulders. Soft breeze was playing with his blond tresses creating an image of someone ethereal, a being not from this plane of existence. Akito saw that Naruto was once again not listening to him. With a heavy sign Akito looked at Naruto once more and continued.

"Why are you doing this? You know you could be cured if you drank it."

"I know, yet I won't do it. I told you already. That decision is final and won't change. Now that we finally agreed, is there anything else you wished to speak about?" retorted Naruto with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"No, my lord, nothing more. But I would like to borrow one of your messengers if you would allow." Akito wasn't put off with Narutos' tone. He looked at the foxes that were now sitting with Naruto. "Hikari dear, would you come with me?" The white fox nodded and with a last lick and a yip left through the door. "If you excuse me now." Akito bowed and left. When he was nearly out of the door Narutos' voice interrupted him "Tell the servants to prepare a room." He knew it was no use asking what the room was for or arguing about his health with him now. The old owl nodded once and left.

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_Meanwhile in Konoha_

Itachi stealthily made his way through the silent house into his room. He had to hurry or he might be too late. He overheard the conversation at the Hokage tower. He knew the demons asked for him, but at the same time he knew his father would never give him away. He trained him as a weapon and as an heir. For Fugaku, Sasuke wasn't needed anymore. But Itachi needed him. He needed a link to a normal life, a precious person to protect, a person he was not ready to loose yet. After arriving into his room he took a quick look around and packed bare necessities into a storage scroll and secured his weapon pouches. With a last scan of his surrounding he took off through the window and hurried out of Konoha in the direction he knew the demon village was. He didn't know the exact location, but he hoped he would catch the team before they would be out of his reach.

---_ timeskip: few hours later _---

Itachi was close to tearing his hair out. He's been walking through the forest for hours now and he was pretty sure he was lost by now. Everything looked the same to him. The trees on his right side were equally brown and green on his left side. He tried going back the same way he came, but soon realized that the way was no more. He didn't recognize his surroundings. He even believed he saw some trees move but wrote it off to stress and tiredness. Yet he wasn't going to give up. He knew he couldn't. But trying to find the right direction out of a forest that was living and moving was wearing his patience thin. Looking at the sun that tore through the crowns of trees he started in the direction he believed he would find the village.

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He heard voices. Or at least what he thought were voices. His head was pounding and he felt the world spinning even as he held his eyes closed. Slowly drifting back to consciousness he realized through the fog on his mind that they were moving. 'A carriage' he thought. Who did the voices belong to? He didn't know the voices so they weren't his team members. With a start he remembered what happened and tried to sit up quickly what only brought a wave of sickness. A small voice startled him though "Take it slowly. Whatever they gave was really strong. Try not to move much. It should pass." Sasuke tried to take a look at the one speaking but the sun was glaring right into his eyes which had yet to get used to the bright light. He tried to speak but for some reason he couldn't find the energy to. "Try to sleep a bit more. Don't worry, everything will be fine." He analyzed the voice and decided it belonged to a girl, a child really. Before he could try a reply he felt a hand on his forehead and slowly slipped back in the darkness.

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They were still moving. He felt it. Fortunately the feeling didn't bring a vertigo anymore. For that he was thankful. He opened his eyes and found out that the sun was considerably lower that it had been when he was last awake. He took a quick look around a found a little girl looking back at him. It was the same girl that talked to him when he woke up the first time. He looked her over. She couldn't be older than 10 maybe 11 years. Her white hair was cropped short and decorated with white and red feathers held together with a small hair clip with bells. She was wearing a short white dress. He also noticed that she didn't have any shoes on. Her feet were only bandaged but she didn't seem to mind. If anything she looked quite content with running around barefoot. He decided she wasn't a threat but stayed on guard, he didn't know her after all. Suddenly he remembered what happened at the breakfast. His team. They mixed something in his food that morning.

_--__- Flashback ---_

_They acted suspiciously normal, he noticed. The breakfast was simple and fast, as it should be when on the mission. But after a few minutes he noticed something was off. Noticing his sight blurring around the edges and feeling slightly faint he looked to his companions silently asking for help. He slumped to the ground but the others were just watching from the side. The last thing he saw before the darkness took him was the face of the leader looking down on him._

_--- End Flashback ---_

He felt confused and betrayed. Why would they drug him? And where were they anyway? He sat up slowly and looked around once more but didn't see them. All he saw were some men if he had to guess, all of them wearing light battle armor and a mask. Most of them were armed with spears but some wielded a katana. His eyes ended on the girl again. He guessed that if he wanted some answers, he should ask some questions first. Taking a deep breath he looked into the girls' bright blue eyes and asked "Who are you?" His voice sounded a bit raspy 'Probably from the sleeping.' he thought. She tilted her head to the right and answered in a soft voice "My name is Hikari. I am to accompany you to Lord Naruto. You were chosen from your village. Hopefully you're prepared." She smiled at him and stood up "You might want to rest a bit." and with that she left the carriage. He saw her going to the front of the escort and talk with the people there. With nothing to do he sat in the carriage waiting.

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In the mansion the staff was running wildly. Their lord ordered them to prepare a room and he wanted it to be ready this evening. They didn't have much time. Naruto was walking through corridor taking his time. Kuro was with him walking by his side. Suddenly Naruto stopped and looked like he was lost in thoughts. A smile crept slowly onto his features and he chuckled. "Kuro, I have a favor to ask." He started. The fox looked at him and waited for further instruction. "There is someone in the forest, south-east of the clearing at Silver River. It seems he is a bit lost. He will be waiting there. I want you to bring him here as fast as possible." The fox nodded and melted into shadow. Naruto sighed and turned around. It was time to head to the entrance hall. Today's first visitor was getting closer. It wouldn't do to make them wait.

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Sasuke's head jerked up as the carriage stopped. Were they already at their destination? One guard from the escort beckoned him to get down from the carriage. He complied, still unsure whether they were enemies or not. When the man turned and started walking away he silently followed. Two more guards walked behind him as he was led to a building he couldn't see well yet. He noticed a small white fox kittling run ahead of them. After a few minutes of walking they arrived at the courtyard of a beautiful mansion. Sasuke was awed. Never in his life had he seen something so amazing. The guards guided him inside and he found himself in a large entrance hall. The walls were decorated with beautiful paintings, the wooden construction made of polished red wood appeared to glow in the light from lamps around the hall. There was a huge staircase in the middle. He saw a white fox from before run up the stairs into the hall on right. A few seconds later three persons emerged from the same hall. One was and old man with a wise look, intelligent eyes and a long white beard. He was wearing a dark blue robe. The other two were considerably younger. The man had grey hair even though he seemed too young to have them and equally grey eyes. His hair was short in the front framing his face but long in the back and held together with a black band. He was wearing black hakama and white haori. The last one was a female. Her auburn hair was held high with a band securing them. Her eyes were a startling mix of orange and brown. She wore a dark purple battle kimono. Sasuke couldn't help it and shivered as she looked down on him. While the two men didn't feel hostile, she felt outright malicious. He had a bad feeling. The three of them stopped on the other side of the stairs. He was confused when they stayed silent when the old man looked back to the hall they just came from. Sasuke looked too, curious about who would enter now and was shocked greatly when he saw a young boy enter. He had shocking blond hair, pale skin and three whisker-like marks on either cheek. He wore what seemed to be a double layered kimono, the inner layer pure white was held together with a white sash, the outer part was ruby red in color with a depiction of sakura petals being blown up from bottom. He wore the second layer open. Sasuke wondered what his eyes looked like when the boy looked at him. Sasuke was shocked. The eyes were the color of clearest blue but cold as ice of the Snow Country. The blonde stopped at the stairs and looked down at the procession. What shocked Sasuke more was the little white haired girl, Hikari he recalled. She hugged the blond lightly and whispered something to him. The blond nodded his head once and the girl disappeared back through the hall they came from. Suddenly Sasuke felt an unpleasant shiver race up his spine. He has a feeling that he wouldn't like what was about to happen.

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Itachi sat near a river, he was tired. He has been running for more that five hours and he was now sure that he was lost. He couldn't find way back and didn't know which way to continue. He decided to rest for a while to think about what to do when he felt a presence at the edge of the clearing. He turned and his coal black eyes met equally black eyes of a young boy. His black hair and black clothes blended with the shadows of the forest. Itachi stood up, his senses on high alert in case the boy were to attack. He was surprised however when the boy spoke in a low voice.

"You are lost." Itachi couldn't but nod his head. "Follow me. Master wishes to see you." Without waiting he turned around and started walking away. Itachi wasn't about to loose his probably only guide out of the forest did exactly what he was asked to. He followed the boy as they together walked through the forest.

TBC...

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_So here is it my dears. Hope you like it. I know I promised it would be done sooner, but please bear with me. I still have some exams going but hopefully everything will be over soon, one way or another. I don't know when the next chapter will be out. Depends on the free time I will have next semester. So keep your fingers crossed and pray for my soul. :D_

_As always, reviews are greatly appreciated._

_This chapter was brought to you by Cali. A typical lazy student._

_Love ya!_


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